Acarbose (BAY g 5421) is an inhibitor of α-Glucosidases with antihyperglycemic activity.

Acarbose 与小肠刷状缘的肠内酶α-葡萄糖苷酶结合并抑制其活性，该酶主要负责水解寡糖和二糖生成葡萄糖等单糖。此外，Acarbose 还抑制胰腺α-淀粉酶，后者能在小肠中将复杂的淀粉水解为低聚糖。

Cell viability is determined using the MTT assay. Cells are seeded in 24-well culture plates at a density of 2×104 cells/well, incubated for 48 h, treated with acarbose at varying concentrations (0.5, 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, and 5.0 μM) for 24 h; or pre-treated with TNF-α (20 ng/mL) for either 24 h or 48 h to evaluate the dose-dependent effects of acarbose on VSMC growth and viability, cultured with 0.5 mg/mL MTT at 37°C in a humidified atmosphere of 5% CO2 for another 4 h, and solubilized with isopropanol. The viable cell number varies directly with the concentration of formazan product measured spectrophotometrically at 563 nm.